GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
The Tech Executive's Introduction to Government
Now is the time for CEOs and other senior executives to play an important role shaping government's experience with their organizations.
January 2001
Donald J. Pfundstein*
for New Hampshire Business Review
My guess is that at one time Bill Gates thought that government was irrelevant. It would seem as though if he held that view he probably no longer does.
Surprisingly, CEOs and other senior executives often ignore government until it is too late to meaningfully shape how it will impact their business models. The "government get out of our way" crowd is especially prevalent in the high tech community. This group misses the mark by failing to recognize that customers who now vote with their mouse (as opposed to just their feet) often wind up on the screen of an elected or other government official.
Having failed to previously define itself, the "government get out of our way" crowd runs the very real risk of having government render them irrelevant or otherwise severely damage their business models, when it intervenes on behalf of your customers.
During Technology Shifts, Consumers Look to Government to Regulate
Senior management may appreciate and even for the most part protect the value of the organization's intellectual property and other strategic assets. However, senior managers frequently ignore the consequences of having failed to extend the company's brand into the government arena.
Managing customer relationships is a critical function for the successful business executive. Part of this job must include an awareness that strained customer relationships often result in the customer looking elsewhere for a solution.
Technology continues to race forward at speeds surpassing human nature's ability to timely adapt to its changes. We are experiencing difficulty accommodating technology's impact on our collective behavior. Folks will turn to government with increasing frequency because the market will not address this difficult and inefficient transition.
It happened during the Industrial Revolution. It is happening again. Simply think about the privacy or access debates for a few moments if you have any doubt. Ignoring this customer phenomenon of seeking government intervention is not an acceptable plan for managing your organization.
Tech Executives Are Well Positioned to Shape the Debate
The context for your involvement could not be better. Although the year 2000 witnessed the crash and burn of various dot.com companies, no serious person questions the fundamental shifts which have already occurred. The ease with which technology enables communication has forever changed the way we do business. Business 2.0 reports in its February 6, 2001 edition that while 570 million pieces of mail are processed by the post office each day, nearly 1.5 billion emails are sent during the same 24-hour period. Until recently many didn't even use email except as a novelty.
The dot.com flameouts do not in any way suggest that technology will soon take a back seat. They simply confirm that business models need to make money for the sponsoring company, not simply for advertising agencies and web site consultants. What better time than now for tech managers to have to focus on government? Their interactions with government will be about issues over which they have a substantial knowledge base. Context and timing are truly significant.
Senior executives recognize the importance of relationships in the business context. I believe that they are the key to everything. Relationships provide a consistent source of opportunities and help defend your products and services against disintermediation. From an organizational standpoint, relationship management is the key human capital skill. You know that your business will soon fall behind if you are unable to attract and retain individuals skilled in relationship management.
Building and maintaining a relationship with government is also critical to your organization's success. However, I am not talking about a simple personal bond between human beings.
The critical relationship is defined by government's experience with your organization. What does government think of you, your company and industry? What does your brand mean in the government context? Knowing the answers to these simple questions will help you predict how government will respond when your customers seek its intervention.
Understanding the Regulatory Ecosystem
Effectively managing the interaction of business and government starts with a general appreciation of the form of government. We all learned that our government consists of three branches — the legislature makes the laws including the budget, the executive branch consists of various agencies and implements or enforces the law, and the judicial branch interprets the law to specific cases or disputes brought before it. Though we were taught that the three branches are separate co-equals, it is important to recognize that they are in reality often overlapping.
Although listing several of the branches' roles may seem elementary, I am often reminded of the new legislator who appeared in Concord only to learn that it was the Legislature and not the Executive Agencies which make the law. Although, knowing what a legislator thinks recently became a national sport, this need is not new in our representative form of government.
We have witnessed a substantive convergence of the three branches of government. This convergence outlines the framework in which the tech executive must develop the organization's governmental strategies. Directing your efforts at a certain appointed official without an appreciation of the substantive interests of the appointing authority makes the probability of a successful outcome unlikely.
Additionally, attempting to work with an executive agency official without knowing what the legislative committee with substantive jurisdiction over the same subject matter thinks is important can actually put you in a dangerous situation. The target of your interest needs to be mindful of the spheres of influence which shape his reality. You do too. In short, you need to understand the customer.
Understanding the customer in the government context is not very different than what you do every day in the business context. If the customer needs or perceives a need for something you have a good chance of presenting the solution. You need to start with the question: How are your wants relevant to the government official's needs?
Remembering that it is about them, not you, is probably the most important thing you can do. Focus externally, then design internally to provide a relevant message. I prefer to look at the process as a movie. Remember it's their movie. They have the leading role. All you want is a bit part. The more you need to feed your ego, the less meaningful progress you will make.
Managing the Process
You must also understand the process. Whether you are dealing with an issue involving an executive agency's administrative rule, a contract before Governor & Council, legislation before the General Court, or a hearing before a superior court judge, you must understand the process. Each step along the way presents targets of opportunity for the effective manager. As you plan, remember to start at the end and work backwards.
If you know the final stage of the process involves a decision-maker known to be adverse to your position, you must start on day one to manage that final step of the process. Failing to do so may provide a thrilling ride but one which will ultimately result in you crashing. Strategies, like systems, never crash at an opportune time.
Communication technologies have drastically changed the interaction between government officials and their various constituencies. Citizens now email their elected representatives and review agency websites for necessary information, assistance and documents. Legislators and executive agency officials are besieged by information from a seemingly endless supply of sources. Time is compressed.
Simply put, they have even less time than you. Your carefully tuned message needs to be delivered in a fashion which is mindful of the reality that it is but an intrusion on the busy schedule of your desired audience. This time compression is occurring as the subject matter is becoming increasingly more complex.
All of this points to the need for credible, timely data in your interaction with both elected and appointed officials. As a tech executive, you are especially well equipped to accomplish the goal of providing meaningful, reliable information as efficiently as practicable.
Conclusion
Not only is it essential that CEOs and other senior executives play a meaningful role in shaping and delivering government's experience with your organization, they must do so now.
The privacy hawks are vigorously pursuing restriction of the commercial use of the fruits of information technologies at both the federal and state level. Access to expensive and competitively advantaged infrastructure will increasingly become the focus of both government regulators and legislators.
Protecting your investment on the government front is at least as important as protecting your intellectual property from competitors. Pretending that government will not impact your organization is likely to position you for failure.
My guess is Bill Gates and I no longer simply share a fondness for Windows, but perhaps the view that taking care of one's government relationship makes good business sense.
*Donald J. Pfundstein is admitted in New Hampshire.
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